. the headline "go large, mitt." listen to this line. it makes you think how faraheadromneywouldbe if he were actually running a campaign, but his unwillingness to go big, to go for the larger argument, is simply astonishing. and, mark, charles goes on to say what many conservatives have said over the past several weeks. he's behind and he continues to play small. >> he does, and he continues to have days that don't really amount to much. yesterday they had a sort of a veterans message and an economy message during events in virginia but they can't wait for just the debates. i think conservatives want to see not just big events in terms of big ideas but big events that grab the nation's attention. the romney campaign is frustrated because they say all the press asks them about is process but that's par for the course and true in every campaign i've ever covered, the press will talk about process particularly polls. mitt romney, conservatives are waiting for him to be big in events, big in message, big in personality. it seems like right now the campaign is waiting for him to do that in the de

and "wall street journal" that show a tight race between the president andmittromney. andwe're looking through the eyes of the "saturday night live" crew. a special campaign edition later on in the show. first, let us get to the news live here at 5:30 a.m. at 30 rock in the center of new york city. we do begin with new developments out of libya. the a.p. reporting the u.s. state department is pulling more staffers out of its embassy in the capital of tripoli over security fears. the move is expected to be temporary until the security situation improves. the embassy was already operating with limited staff following the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi that left four americans dead. it is now been 17 days since that attack. sources say fbi agents sent to investigate the murders still have not been able to visit the actual scene of the crime due to security concerns. secretary of defense leon panetta yesterday said there was no doubt terrorists were responsible. >> as we determined the details of what took place there and how that attack took place that it became clear tha

obama andmittromneygohead-to-head in virginia today. in springfieldgovernorromneycriticizedthe defense on defense cuts. today he talked about specific alternatives. >> yeah, julie carey joins us to tell us about that. >> for many virginians with military ties, the president is also their commander in chief. governor mitt romney and president barack obama tried to make the case they would best look out for the interests of veterans and those on active duty. in an american legion hag not far from the pentagon, mitt romney directed a war of words at president obama. faulting him for the budget deal on capitol hill that will lead to deep defense cuts. and could cost virginia up to 200,000 defense jobs. >> when i become president of the united states, we will stop it. i will not cut our commitment to our military. >> reporter: but even some romney supporters have urged him to provide more specifics about how he'll cut trillions and keep defense spending intact. he starts by scaling back health care reform. >> there are other programs that some people like, i even like that we're

romneywillonce again campaign in virginiatoday.romneywillbe in our area. he has an event scheduled at the american legion post 176 in springfield. doors will open at 10:30 this morning. the event starts at 11:50. the president will be in virginia beach where he will hold a rally for about 20,000 supporters. >> both candidates spent yesterday in ohio. the president spoke at two colleges. his republican opponent visited several cities, including cleveland. romney held a town hall meeting there to discuss jobs and the economy. >> you can be extraordinarily eloquent and describe all the wonderful things you can do, but when you cut through the words, you can look at the record, and when you can see policies that have not created the jobs america needs, then you know it's time to choose a new leader. >> look, i don't believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives. >> president obama holds a sizable lead over mitt romney in ohio in recent polls. >>> this morning, we're learning about a securit

ahead to next week's first presidential debate. will it be make or break formittromney? we'vegot our political dream team of brokaw, gregory and todd all here to weigh in this morning. >>> all right. and then on thursday you'll remember david goggins kicked off his "guinness world record" attempts to do most powellups in 24 hours. well, there's been a significant develop overnight, and we will talk to david about it coming up. >>> but we want to begin with that deadly shooting at a business in minneapolis. nbc's kevin tibbles is there. kevin, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, witnesses say the alleged 36-year-old shooter may have been fired from his job here at the accent sign company behind me yesterday morning. it turned an afternoon very tragic when he opened fire on fellow employees. by the time he was done, five were dead, including the shooter himself, who turned the gun on himself. a woman living near this sign company late thursday afternoon says one worker took shelter in her home for about 30 minutes. >> he came running up the side of the front, the garage and ask

has no comment about this. >>> president obama seems to be widening his lead overmittromneynationwide.but alison burns is live in our washington, d.c. bureau with the one group that seems to be rallying behind the republican nominee. >> reporter: tori, mitt romney will campaign in northern virginia. here he is meeting with veterans. the poll shows romney with a double-digit lead over president obama. he and paul ryan have stepped up their call against looming defense cuts. >> we believe in peace through strength. we believe that when america's military is strong, america is safer. >> reporter: now, the obama campaign reports to other polls that show the president has consistently had strong support and since many vets are part of the 47% of americans that romney is criticized for not paying income taxes. >> i don't believe we can get any far with leaders who write off half of the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsible for their life -- responsibility for their lives. >> back to you. >>> another presidential candidate will be campaigning tonight. roseanne b